What Kind Of Christian Are You?

October 22, 2006 ~ Westney Heights Baptist Church

1 Peter 3:8-18
- ESV-Finally, all of you,
have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble
mind. (9) Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain
a blessing. (10) For "Whoever desires to love life and see good
days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;
(11) let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and
pursue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil." (13) Now who is there to harm you if you are
zealous for what is good? (14) But even if you should suffer for
righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be
troubled, (15) but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as
holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a
reason for the hope that is in you; (16) yet do it with
gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to
shame. (17) For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that
should be God's will, than for doing evil. (18) For Christ also
suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the
spirit,

What kind of Christian are you? There are many
different kinds of Christian. There are Christians who wouldn’t think of
doing anything the Bible forbids and then there are Christians who do
whatever they wish, whether the Bible allows it or not. There are Christians
so committed to holiness that they are offended by all sin and then there
are Christians who are so committed to love that they are offended by none.
Then there are Christians who are so filled with God that His glory shines
through everything that they do.

We have not all been made from the same mould.
Each of us is unique and gifted by God according to His design. We are not
all the same and so we cannot all be the same kind of Christian. What is
right for one may not be right for an other and what is wrong for one may be
right for an other. With all of that in mind I ask again: What kind of
Christian are you?

There are really only two kinds of Christian.
There is the Christian who is so like God that to see him is to see a
reflection of God and there is the Christian who is so unlike God that he
can only pretend to reflect God.

Many of us have heard the phrase: “He’s so
Heavenly minded that he’s no Earthly good,” indicating, apparently, someone
so committed to Heaven that he was useless on Earth. This is an oxymoron.
Regardless of what kind of Christian a person is there is no way that a
Christian can be useless on Earth by being committed to God. The kind of
faith that would make a person useless on Earth is not faith in God but
faith in self. It is not alive and vibrant, drawing others into salvation,
but it is dead, a dry husk of a faith that is so ineffective as to be
rubbish. This type of faith can be seen both in the most legalistic
Christian and in the most liberal. It can be seen in the most holy of men
and in the most tolerant. It is a faith that denies the power of God by
replacing it with the power of man and teaches man that he may be saved by
his own ability rather than through the blood of Jesus. The apostle Paul,
late in his life, warned his protégé Timothy of such people with these
words:

2 Timothy 3:1-7
- ESV -But understand this, that
in the last days there will come times of difficulty. (2) For
people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) heartless,
unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
(4) treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God, (5) having the appearance of
godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (6) For
among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women,
burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, (7)
always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

Paul appears to be describing a non-Christian
quite accurately. Everything he mentions is something that no member of the
Church should be doing. But the point that Paul is making is that these
people will be in the Church, are already in the Church. They appear
to be Godly but be seek their own glory rather than the glory that belongs
to God. They are leaders deceived by knowledge, never arriving at wisdom.
There would have been no need to warn Timothy that such people lived in the
world, it would have been obvious to anyone. Paul was warning Timothy to be
on his guard against such people because they would be in the Church,
appearing to be Godly but would not be. Paul was warning Timothy so that he
would not be deceived by these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

There are Christians like that today. They are
with us in our churches. They appear to be just like real sheep but they are
wolves. Their faith is ineffective and deceptive for it is a faith in
themselves and not in the God they pretend to follow. They are not being
like God but only pretending to be like God.

But there is the other kind of Christian. There
is the Christian whose faith is vibrant and alive. A faith that does not
need to be faked because it is real and is found upon the power of God. Paul
also speaks of this kind of Christian:

2 Timothy 3:10-17
- ESV -You, however, have followed
my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my
steadfastness, (11) my persecutions and sufferings that happened
to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra--which persecutions I endured;
yet from them all the Lord rescued me. (12) Indeed, all who
desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (13)
while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and
being deceived. (14) But as for you, continue in what you have
learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
(15) and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred
writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

Notice the descriptive verbs that Paul uses in
verse 10: Teaching. Conduct. Aim. Faith. Patience. Love. Steadfastness.
Notice also that he is speaking of himself: My teaching. My conduct. My aim.
My faith. My patience. My love. My steadfastness. To most normal people this
would appear to be bragging of the highest sort. This is the other kind of
Christian. One of whom great things could be said. I do not believe that
Paul was bragging but using Timothy’s intimate knowledge of Paul’s character
for Timothy’s enlightenment and encouragement.

While I mentioned earlier that we all know
Christians who’s faith is misplaced, it is also wonderfully true that we all
know Christians who are to us and others what Paul was to Timothy. Men and
women who are so devoted to God that God’s own beauty appears to shine
through them. Men and women who care so much for God that they care for all
whom God has made. Men and women who are truly glorious and jubilant
Christians. Not because of their goodness. Notice that in all of his writing
Paul emphasizes his own unworthiness of God and God’s unconditional love for
him. Not because of a lack of trouble. Notice that Paul also speaks of
himself in reference to persecution. “My persecutions,” he says. Twice. Even
a casual reading of Paul’s letters and the book of Acts will show just how
much Paul suffered. Because of his faith. Yet he drew people to God. Why?
Let’s take a look at some of the other things he said and did to see if we
can find out why.

Acts 16:23-25
- ESV -And when they had inflicted
many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to
keep them safely. (24) Having received this order, he put them
into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. (25)
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 27:33-37
- ESV -As day was about to dawn,
Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day
that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing.
(34) Therefore I urge you to take some food. It will give you
strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you."
(35) And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving
thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.
(36) Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves.
(37) (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.)

Although this is not an exhaustive listing of
Paul’s activities, each of the above passages shows us that Paul was a man
so committed to God that the circumstances in which he lived did not hold
him down but gave him opportunity for ministry. In these two passages from
Acts we see the practical effect of his behaviour where those around him
were themselves affected by his confidence in God. Just imagine the
impression that Paul and Silas had on their fellow prisoners by singing
hymns of praise to God in spite of their being unjustly whipped and
imprisoned. Or what of the sailors with Paul on a ship that had been driven
by a violent storm for two weeks. What characteristics did they see in him
that even after all this time that in certain fear of death they could take
encouragement from his assurance that none of them would die. What had these
people seen in Paul that would cause them to pay him attention?

I believe that what they saw was the outward
working of his inner faith. He was a man so in love with God that everyone
around him could not help but be affected by his faith. It’s kind of like
this: When I was in Bible College I knew a man who was very much in love. He
couldn’t keep from talking about his girlfriend. When she became his fiancé
he spoke of her even more to the point where, even though they had never met
her, all his classmates knew of the impact she had on him. Though they were
separated by several hundred kilometers it was like she was with him
wherever he went. I believe that Paul was in love with God in the same way.
He was so in love with God that whenever people saw Paul they could also see
God. His love for God came out in everything he said or did. Paul encouraged
those who knew him to be like him in love for God so that they would be so
overcome by God that nothing else would matter. Everything else would be an
opportunity to win souls to Christ. Circumstances did not overwhelm Paul, by
the power of God Paul was able to overwhelm circumstances.

Philippians 4:12
- ESV -I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned
the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. (13)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

How can we achieve what Paul was able to do?
Perspective. Our problem today, especially in the West, is that we are so
wrapped up in career, family, materialism and any of a multitude of other
distractions that God is someone we don’t think about except on Sundays and
then only during worship services. Paul did not relegate God to Sunday
worship, he relegated Sunday worship and all the rest of life to God. Pay
attention to these verses that indicate Paul’s attitude towards life:

2 Corinthians 4:16-17
- ESV -So we do not lose heart.
Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed
day by day. (17) For this slight momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Paul knew that what ever he experienced in his
earthly life paled in comparison to what was waited for him in Heaven.

Philippians 1:21-25
- ESV -For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. (22) If I am to live in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
(23) I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be
with Christ, for that is far better. (24) But to remain in the
flesh is more necessary on your account. (25) Convinced of this,
I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and
joy in the faith,

It’s almost as if Paul had a choice on whether to
live or die; to live and continue to help the Philippians or to die and be
with his Lord. His choice to live and work with the Philippians showed his
commitment to doing the work God had for him to do.

Philippians 4:4-7
- ESV -Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice. (5) Let your reasonableness be known
to everyone. The Lord is at hand; (6) do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.

Paul could encourage the Philippians to call on
the Lord for all their needs because he had experienced God’s direct care
himself. Paul knew that every one of his needs could be met by God,
regardless of circumstance.

Colossians 3:15-17
- ESV -And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be
thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (17)
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul was a jubilant Christian. He knew what he
had been saved from. He knew that he did not deserve it. For Paul God was
not an idea but a saviour. In everything he wrote Paul makes these things
very evident:

-
He knew that did not deserve the salvation that God had given him

-
He was overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift he had received

-
He knew that God could meet every need

We tend to think that we need to take care of
ourselves. We think that our health is something a doctor should be trusted
with. We think that our retirement plans are best guided by financial
advisors. We think that those who harm us are best dealt with by the law. We
tend to think that the power of God was something of powerful effect during
the lifetimes of the apostles but that it is of little or no effect now. But
in so doing we are denying the power of God and placing our faith in the
power of man.

God is concerned for our health. When we worry
that our health is not restored perhaps we are ignoring the lesson of grace
that God is teaching us.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9
- ESV -So to keep me from being
too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given
me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being
too elated. (8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this,
that it should leave me. (9) But he said to me, "My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I
will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
may rest upon me.

God is concerned for our retirement but is also
concerned that His starving children have the means to live. Perhaps our
retirement should be placed in God’s hands so we can feed the hungry.

Luke 12:18-21
- ESV -And he said, 'I will do
this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will
store all my grain and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be
merry.' (20) But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is
required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
(21) So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich
toward God."

God is concerned when we are harmed. Perhaps we
should forgive rather than seek compensation.

Acts 7:59-60
- ESV -And as they were stoning
Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." (60)
And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold
this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

God is powerful and that power is as valid for us
today as it was in the days of Paul. Perhaps in failing to acknowledge this
place limits on what God will do for us.

2 Timothy 3:2-7
- ESV -For people will be lovers
of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) heartless, unappeasable,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, (4)
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God, (5) having the appearance of godliness, but
denying its power.

For Paul, nothing mattered more than God.
Everything that had been of value to him he considered valueless so that he
could know God better. He worked to rid himself of anything that would
distract him from God:

Philippians 3:3-8
- ESV -For we are the real
circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and
put no confidence in the flesh-- (4) though I myself have reason
for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for
confidence in the flesh, I have more: (5) circumcised on the
eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; (6) as to zeal, a persecutor
of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. (7)
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (8)
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all
things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

For Paul, health was less of a concern than
devotion to Christ. For Paul, retirement was not something to be considered,
his future was in God’s hands and God could do with him what he pleased. For
Paul, personal harm was cause for joy for if was proof of his allegiance.

In closing I want to ask you several questions.
If you are offended by them then perhaps I’m striking close to home. If you
can shrug them off without a second thought then perhaps you should think
about them a little bit more. My hope is that each day we live we ask
ourselves these questions and use them to help us better live the life that
God has given us.

Have we, like Paul, given up everything as
rubbish so that we can gain Christ?

Does God’s will occupy more of our thought and
time than our own will?

How have we distinguished ourselves from those
whose faith is not in God but in themselves?

Where Christians are essentially indistinguishable from non-Christians what
makes you different?

What sets you apart from those condemned to die?

What is it about you that makes people wonder about you and want to be like
you? How is Christ made evident in your life?

Does the fact that you are a child of God fill you daily with unspeakable
joy?